The aging QE2 served 35 years as Cunard's main trans-Atlantic workhorse. It left Southampton, on England's south coast, for Germany, where it will be overhauled before taking up service as a full-time cruise ship.

A flotilla of small craft surrounded the QE2 as it passed Cunard's brand-new superliner, the Queen Mary 2, the world's largest ocean liner.

The two ships arrived in tandem from New York, the first time two Cunard liners have crossed the Atlantic together.

The Boston Cup, which always sails aboard the company's flagship, was taken from the QE2 at a ceremony attended by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. The city of Boston gave the cup to Cunard founder Samuel Cunard after his 1840 crossing from Liverpool on the vessel Britannia.

Queen Elizabeth II (news - web sites) sent a message saying she and her husband Prince Philip "remember with pleasure many visits to the ship" and offered their best wishes.

The QE2 sets sail again May 22 with a cruise to northern Europe. The QM2 left Southampton later Saturday to return to New York.

The $1 billion QM2 is three times the size of the Titanic.

Among the amenities aboard the luxury liner are a two-story theater, a planetarium and Art Deco styling reminiscent of 1930s vessels. Its maiden voyage in January was a cruise to the Azores and the Caribbean, with a stop at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.